MICROCOMPUTERS

What is the key difference in how a synchronous bus and an asynchronous bus handle wait states by default?

What is the maximum data transfer rate of the original IBM PC bus?

How did the PC/AT bus improve upon the original PC bus in terms of data path and IRQ lines?

What is a key feature of the Micro Channel bus first used in IBM's PS/2 series computers?

How did the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus achieve its features while maintaining compatibility with AT plug-in cards?

What type of connector does the Multibus II use, which is noted for improving reliability over card-edge connectors?

Which characteristic distinguishes the VME bus from NuBus and Multibus II?

What is the primary difference between interpreted languages like BASIC and compiled languages like C or FORTRAN in terms of execution?

What is the function of a 'linker' in the process of creating a runnable program?

What is the primary role of a software 'driver'?

What is the purpose of the 8th bit that is often sent with 7-bit ASCII characters in serial communication?

In asynchronous bit-serial transmission, what is the purpose of the START bit?

What are the specified voltage levels for a driver in the RS-232 standard?

In the context of RS-232, what is the fundamental difference between a DTE (data terminal equipment) and a DCE (data communication equipment) regarding the transmit and receive pins?

What is the maximum specified cable length for the RS-423A serial data standard?

What is the key difference in signaling between the RS-422A and RS-423A standards?

In modem communication, what does FSK, used in the 300 baud Bell 103 standard, stand for?

When transferring data files using a modem, why is it advisable to use a block-checking protocol like Kermit or XMODEM?

In the Centronics parallel printer interface, what is the function of the BUSY signal?

What is the primary advantage of the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)?

What were the typical asynchronous and synchronous data transfer rates supported by the SCSI standard described in the text?

The IEEE-488 bus, also known as GPIB, was originated by which company and for what primary purpose?

What is the maximum number of instruments permitted on a single IEEE-488 (GPIB) bus cable?

In a CSMA/CD network like Ethernet, what does a sending node do if it detects a collision while transmitting a packet?

What is the key difference between Ethernet's CSMA/CD protocol and LocalTalk's CSMA/CA protocol?

What is the typical representation for signed integers in computers?

In the IEEE 32-bit single-precision floating-point format, what is the 'hidden bit' trick?

How does the IBM floating-point format described differ from the IEEE format in its use of an exponent?

What is the primary purpose of a 'ramdisk'?

What is the address width, in bits, of the CAMAC bus according to the provided table?

Based on the provided computer bus specifications, which bus has the highest raw bandwidth?

What is the data width of the STD bus?

What does the term WYSIWYG, used in the context of editor/formatters, stand for?

What is a potential problem with using a general-purpose editor/formatter to create source code for a compiler?

According to the text, what is the role of an operating system?

What is 'virtual memory'?

What is the key functional difference between a 'ramdisk' and a 'disk cache'?

Which of these is NOT listed as a standardized 'cable interface' for peripherals?

Which ASCII control character, also known as 'control C', is interpreted by many operating systems as a command to abort a running program?

What is the maximum data rate specified for the RS-485 serial data standard?

What technique is used by 1200 baud (Bell 212A) and 2400 baud modems to encode data?

In a token-ring network, how is access to the network controlled?

What is the specified address width for the MicroChannel bus, according to the table of computer buses?

Which of these computer buses is described in the table as being synchronous?

What type of connector is indicated for the NuBus in the computer bus specifications table?

When is it necessary to add wait states on a bus?

What is the maximum number of drivers and receivers supported on a single line by the RS-485 standard?

What does SCSI, a popular parallel interface standard, stand for?

The SCSI interface is a descendant of which earlier interface developed by Shugart Associates?

What is the maximum data path width supported by the EISA bus?